We have been taking a weekly look at Canadian post war load bearing equipment for nearly six months now. Whilst most of the pieces are uniquely Canadian in design, they have all been of fairly standard use- ammunition pouch, belt, water bottle pouch etc. Tonight however we have a piece of 82 pattern equipment that I don’t think has been replicated by any other military (if you know better please let me know), The ‘Carrier KFS’:The ‘KFS’ stands for ‘knife, fork and spoon’ and this was a dedicated pouch for these eating implements and the C5 knife. As ever the manual provides a nice line drawing of the pouch:The pouch has a simple belt loop on the back to slide over the belt of the 82 pattern set. The main compartment holds the knife, fork and spoon and is secured with a Velcro flap:The sides of this part of the pouch are left unstitched for about half of the length to allow easier access to the contents:A second pocket is provided on the front and this was used to hold the C5 knife:This was an all metal jack knife and was the Canadian designation for the US Camillus MIL-K-818 knife. Examples were issued both with and without ‘US’ stamped on the body. The knife was to remain in service until the mid-1990s when it was replaced with a multi tool.

Whilst this pouch was issued and used, it was never universally popular and many troops found it just as convenient to store their KFS in a pocket or pouch. That the Canadian government issued a dedicated pouch though suggests they realised how important a soldier’s cutlery was to him and how essential it was that he could access them easily in the field for a snatched meal without rooting around in the bottom of a pack.

The design of some of the components of the Canadian 82 pattern did not stay still, and new modifications and updates were made to certain components based on feedback from those actually using them and experience in the field. A case in point is the utility pouch which can be found in three main variants. The utility pouch was originally intended for mess tins and wet weather gear, however it evolved into a carrier for a 200rd box of ammunition for the C9 light machine gun by the third pattern and this is reflected in the three models:Left to right we have the first pattern which was introduced in 1982, the second pattern which added a hook strap and the final version which was slightly larger and fitted with grenade loops on either side. Turning the pouches over we can see clearly that the first pattern on the left lacks the hook strap to attach it to the yoke:By adding the hook strap to the second and third pattern troops had more flexibility in where on the belt they put the utility pouch and by attaching the pouch to the yoke heavier items could be carried with more support from the shoulders, preventing the belt from being deformed by the weight. All three pouches have two sets of plastic hooks and Velcro securing straps to attach them to the belt. The hook strap fitted to the second and third pattern has metal reinforcement grommets on it and can be tucked away if its position on a belt meant it was not needed:All three pouches use the same plastic and web tab quick release fasteners on the front with two positions provided to ensure the lid is secure regardless of how much has been placed inside:A webbing loop is fitted inside the pouches to allow the contents to be drawn out of the pouch:The strip of webbing goes from the top front of the pouch in a loop down to the bottom of the pouch and back up the back, pulling on it shortens the loop of fabric and draws the contents out of the pouch for easy removal.

Interestingly it is the second pattern of Utility Pouch that is illustrated in the user’s manual for the 1982 pattern set:The third pattern of utility pouch adds two fabric loops for grenades to be carried, as ever I don’t have the correct grenade for this, but a British 1970s training grenade illustrates the principle:The inside of the third pattern pouch has this rather nice manufacturer’s stamp, dating this particular example to 1991:Canadian troops tended to carry at least one of these pouches on their webbing and fire team partners and other members of the section would commonly help spread the two section light machine gunners load by carrying extra belt boxes of ammunition for them in their utility pouches.

As discussed last month, amongst many short comings on the 64 pattern webbing set was the wholly inadequate suspenders to support the weight of the equipment over the shoulders. The 82 pattern set sought to remedy this problem and a well-padded yoke was provided, offering comfort far beyond that available on the earlier system:The yoke used in the 82 pattern set is based off the American ALICE system of the 1970s, but adapted for Canadian service. The yoke assembly illustrated above is actually a combination of two parts, as shown in the user’s handbook. The Yoke:And four ‘hook strap assemblies’:As these were normally left connected we will treat them as one unit for this post. The yoke is heavily padded with protection for the wearer across both shoulders and the top of the back:The side of the yoke away from the wearer has a centrally mounted panel fitted with metal eyelets used to attach equipment (most often an entrenching tool) to the upper back:The front half of the yoke over each shoulder has a series of webbing loops to allow items to be hook on if required:Often a shell dressing would be taped onto the webbing at this point. Plastic friction buckles are sewn to the ends of each shoulder piece and at each corner of the back part of the yoke:These are attached to the ‘hook strap assemblies’ that in turn attach to the belt or other parts of the webbing with a plastic hook fastener and Velcro strips:One Canadian serviceman with eleven years’ experience wearing the 83 pattern set explains how it is attached:

To be more detailed in regards to how it fits, the yoke for the Canadian 82 Pattern Web-Gear, has four straps. The two in the back, have little plastic hooks which point in opposite directions (up and down) and clip onto the butt pack. The two in the front, have the same plastic hooks and clip onto magazine pouches, or the utility pouch. Obviously, the magazine pouches, utility pouch and butt pack all clip onto the web belt. The straps from the yoke will not properly clip into the web-belt directly – and stay connected – they have to be connected to the pouches and butt pack.

One of the great improvements the Canadian 82 pattern webbing set brought over its predecessor, the 64 pattern set, was that it finally reintroduced a dedicated ammunition pouch: that the 64 pattern did not have one is still frankly baffling. The new set was heavily influenced by the US ALICE system and in the end two distinct variants of the pouch were produced, an original plain ammunition pouch and a later development with a pair of grenade pouches fitted to either side:The pouches held two magazines for the service rifle, with a pair of lifting tabs to help pull them out of the pouch:The user’s manual illustrated how to use them:A top cover was provided to keep the elements off the magazines, secured with the standard plastic and webbing tape quick release buckle:The back of the pouch has the usual plastic tabs to engage with the eyelets on the 82 pattern belt:Velcro then passes over them to help secure it further:Drainage holes are fitted to the base of the pouch to allow water to drain off:The second pattern pouches have two grenade pockets on either side of the main pouch body. I do not have a Canadian grenade available, but this British training grenade illustrates the principle:Variants of this pouch can be found to fit FN C1 magazines and C7 magazines, with slightly larger examples available to house FN C2 magazines. The pouches were generally well liked, the most serious complaint being that the stitching sometimes broke and became loose, the go to repair being to patch them up with heavy duty tape.